


Needed Assurance

by BevvyWrites



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Endgame Luka Couffaine/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Endgame Lukanette, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Identity Reveal, Post Silencer
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-14 11:02:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,531
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29417586
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BevvyWrites/pseuds/BevvyWrites
Summary: After the events of Silencer, Ladybug is out clearing her head on patrol trying to sort through her feelings. Finding herself close to a familiar house boat, she is surprised to see an even more familiar musician. As he seems to be upset, Ladybug does the heroic thing and checks on him.
Relationships: Luka Couffaine/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Marinette - Relationship
Comments: 10
Kudos: 101
Collections: 2021 Exchange





	Needed Assurance

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Hopesdespite](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=Hopesdespite).



> This is for @hopesdespite here on AO3 (@writtenbyrain on tumblr)! I was your secret admirer and I really hope you enjoy! Happy Valentine's day!

Ladybug always enjoyed nights where she patrolled alone. Not that she didn’t enjoy Chat Noir’s company, but being alone gave her the freedom to take things as slow or as fast as she wanted. On days where a lot weighed on her mind, she would lazily swing through the streets, letting her thoughts wander as she tried to process things. 

Tonight was one of those nights. Earlier that day, her and Chat Noir had stopped Silencer. Luka had gotten akumatized in order to avenge her, and had confessed his feelings for her twice. The second time, he had looked at her with so much admiration in his eyes that she was sure she’d turn into a puddle of goo where she stood. That moment had been played on loop in her mind since it had happened, leaving both her head and her heart confused. So her solution was to take her time on patrol tonight, despite how tired she was, to give herself the time to work through her feelings. 

While lost in thought, however, she hadn’t realized how close she had gotten to a certain houseboat that was docked in the Seine. Stopping on a roof that gave her a clear view of it, Ladybug found herself blushing. Before she could quickly leap away in embarrassment, however, she caught sight of something that made her stop. 

Sitting on the deck of the Liberty was Luka. He was posed as if he were about to start playing, and curiosity led Ladybug to secretly swing to get a closer look. As she got closer, though, she saw a solemn expression on his face and became worried. Before she could talk herself out of it, she landed on the deck in front of Luka. 

“L-Ladybug?” Luka said, so startled he almost dropped his guitar. Despite the shock on his face, it was still obvious he was feeling down. 

“Hey,” Ladybug said softly, “I was just passing by and when I saw you I figured I’d drop in and say hello.” Despite her usual boost in confidence while wearing her mask, Ladybug found herself nervously looking away. 

“Hey,” Luka said, his voice lacking the usual humor it usually held. He still tried to crack a smile and a joke, though, “So, do you always stop by and say hello to random citizens or am I special, Miss Bug?” 

Ladybug blushed, “Well…” she looked away shyly, “Actually, I noticed you looked a little down.” She looked back at him, making sure to hold eye contact, “I thought maybe I could help. My ears might not work as well as Chat Noir’s but I am still a good listener.” 

Luka laughed lightly at her joke, which made her smile. “Thank you, Ladybug, but you don’t have to waste your time here. I promise I won’t let myself get akumatized. Once was more than enough for me…” the slight spark of humor that flashed in his eyes faded along with his voice. His gaze fell to the deck of the boat and he lightly bit his bottom lip. 

“Luka,” Ladybug frowned, stepping closer and putting her hands on his shoulders. He looked up at her, and his eyes looked like they were starting to mist over. Ladybug felt her heart break as she watched tears form in his eyes and fall silently down his cheeks. With gloved hands she wiped a few away before pulling him into a hug. “It isn’t your fault.” 

Luka, while not reciprocating the hug, didn’t pull away either, “I could have hurt her, Ladybug.” His voice quivered, and his grip on his guitar tightened. His arm brushed against the strings when he did that, and the discordant sound that it made only seemed to further express his feelings. 

Ladybug didn’t even need to ask who the “her” he was referring to was. 

“You didn’t though, Luka. She was fine,” She pulled away from the hug to look at him. His tears had slowed down considerably, but his eyes were still watery. 

“But what if Hawkmoth had turned me into a more violent villain? What if I didn’t have control over myself? I was so angry at what they were trying to do, he could have easily turned me into a brainless, rampaging akuma. And then she would have gotten hurt...” 

“Well, we could go back and forth all day about ‘what if’s, Luka,” Ladybug said softly, “But what matters is what actually happened. Did you hurt her?” 

“Not that she’s told me,” Luka frowned, “But I don’t think she’d tell me, just to keep me from feeling guilty.” Ladybug almost wanted to laugh at the accuracy of that accusation, but refrained.

“Well I can guarantee you that you didn’t hurt her,” Ladybug smiled, “I swear on all of my lucky spots.” 

Relief flooded his expression as he rested his head in one of his hands. His hand covered his eyes, and when his shoulders started shaking Ladybug realized it was because he was crying again.

“Oh my gosh Luka I-I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to upset you again!” she backed away, panicked and unsure of what to do. 

“No…” Luka said between sobs, “I’m just… so relieved…” 

Ladybug was touched. Was Luka really so worried about hurting Marinette that he’d beat himself up this badly over it? She couldn’t have that. Ladybug sighed softly as she knelt down in front of Luka. She placed her hand on his knee and looked up at him, “Luka,” she said gently, “maybe you should talk to her about how you feel? I think she’d be worried if she knew how guilty you felt about everything.” 

“She already has so much on her plate,” Luka frowned, “the last thing she needs is to be worried about how I’m feeling. She worries about everyone enough already, so much that she barely worries about herself.” 

Ladybug couldn’t help but wince, feeling more than a little called-out, but shook her head lightly and gave his knee a gentle squeeze, “I really think you need to talk to her, Luka. The sooner the better.” 

“I don’t want her to see me like this, though,” Luka sighed, “It’s already embarrassing enough having you see me like this.” 

Ladybug frowned, “Luka, there is nothing wrong with crying, or being upset. You don’t have to keep it together all the time.” 

“But--” 

“Would you want Marinette to be embarrassed about crying in front of you?” 

“Of course not,” Luka said quickly, and froze as he got the point Ladybug was making, “Alright, Ladybug, thank you.” 

Ladybug stood, and as she gently stretched she looked Luka over. He had stopped crying, his eyes red but not holding quite the amount of hurt that they did before. He likely wouldn’t be back to ‘normal’ until he had talked with Marinette, and heard that she was alright from her directly. But Ladybug had given him the step in the right direction. She could finish things up as Marinette whenever Luka decided to talk with her. 

“You’re welcome Luka,” Ladybug smiled, “I hope you know how much Marinette cares about you.” 

Luka blushed, and she had to fight back the urge to giggle. “What do you mean? How…?” 

It was Ladybug’s turn to blush, and she turned away quickly, “Well, I’ve got patrol to finish! Enjoy the rest of your night!” and without looking back at him, she swung her yo-yo and disappeared behind the rooftops, leaving behind a very confused and flustered musician. 

When she got home that night and dropped her transformation, she immediately grabbed the nearest pillow and squealed while Tikki watched on in amusement. 

“So I’m assuming the patrol helped you clear your mind?” Tikki giggled with an all-knowing look in her eyes. 

Marinette chucked the pillow at Tikki, who simply passed through it. 

\--------------------

It was a few days before Marinette got to see Luka again, which made her feel both disappointed in relieved. Disappointed because she worried he may still be upset over what happened, and relieved because it gave her more time to think about how she would respond to him. She wanted to tell him not only that she wasn’t hurt by him, but that she had feelings for him, too. 

Part of her was incredibly nervous, she’d never successfully confessed to anyone before and the fear of failure almost consumed her, but Tikki reminded her that she’d had plenty of smooth conversations with Luka before. Now all she needed to do was bump into him. If she approached him too quickly, though, he might get suspicious. Especially if she started talking to him about when he was Silencer. 

But when she did see Luka next, waiting at the bottom steps of the school and anxiously looking up at her, she didn’t even get the chance to say anything at all. Because just as she stopped in front of him, a smile on her face and his name on the tip of her tongue, a large vine burst from the pavement a few feet away. Concrete went flying and Marinette pushed Luka to the ground, using her body to shield his. 

More large vines came up from the ground, destroying the roads and sidewalks. The large vines spread and began covering buildings. In the distance, she could hear a woman’s voice shouting about rude customers and no one respecting small business. 

“Of course,” Marinette griped. She looked down at Luka, giving him a quick once-over to make sure he was okay. Once she was sure he was free of injuries, she stood up, helping him up as well. “You need to get to safety, Luka,” Marinette instructed, “Go hide in one of the lockers, you should be safe there.” 

“You’re coming with me,” Luka said, gently taking her hand, “I’m not gonna just let you run headfirst into danger alone.” 

Marinette blushed, touched by the gesture, but also was frustrated. She needed to go stop the akuma! “Luka, I’m fine. I’m going to make sure everyone inside the school is safe. Please, please, get to safet--ah!” 

In a move that left Marinette speechless, he picked her up bridal style without warning and began running in the opposite direction of the voice of the akuma, “I’m sorry,” he huffed softly as he ran, “I just can’t stand the thought of you getting hurt.” 

Marinette could only stare up at him in awe, so shocked she couldn’t even protest. The look of determination on his face--his determination to protect her--made her heart soar. It wasn’t until Luka set her down gently in an alleyway, far enough way that she couldn’t even hear the ruckus of the akuma, that she was able to speak. “Luka, you don’t understand, I have to go back,” she wasn’t sure how she was going to convince him, but she needed to get away to transform. 

“Please, Marinette,” Luka plead, putting his hands on her shoulders, “I am well aware of how brave you are, and how strong, but I just can’t--” 

“Luka,” Marinette brought one of her hands up to rest on his, “why are you so worried? Is something bothering you?” Now wasn’t really the best time to have this talk, but Marinette was confident that Chat Noir could manage for a few minutes until she got to the scene. She couldn’t leave Luka when he was like this. 

“I… I could have hurt you…” he said softly, now not able to look her in the eyes, “When I was akumatized.” 

Marinette stepped closer to him and wrapped her arms around his torso gently, resting her forehead against his chest. She felt Luka stiffen for a moment before relaxing, before returning the gesture by hugging her closer to him, hiding his face in her hair. The warmth radiating off of him brought Marinette a sense of comfort she never wanted to leave. 

“Luka,” Marinette managed to say softly, “I need to tell you something, and I need you to listen to the whole thing before you say anything, okay? Even if I sound stupid.” 

Luka let out a huff that sounded like a laugh, “You never sound stupid, Marinette,” he said softly, “but alright.” 

Marinette closed her eyes and took a deep breath, trying her hardest to get her heart rate to slow down. As she opened her mouth to speak she was once again interrupted by a vine exploding from the ground. Only this vine knocked into one of the buildings next to the alley her and Luka were hiding in. A large chunk of debris came hurtling toward them, and the next few moments were a blur.

“Marinette!” 

“Spots on!” 

In an instant, she was swinging out of the way, with Luka held tight to her. She landed less than gracefully on the roof on the opposite side of the street. She grunted as she skidded across the top, trying hard to protect Luka from as much damage as possible. “Are you alright, Luka?” Ladybug asked, looking at the stunned teen. His eyes darted between her and the now rubble-filled alley that they were just standing in. He finally settled his gaze on her, eyes wide with wonder and admiration.

“Marinette, you’re… Ladybug?” 

Ladybug sighed, “This definitely isn’t how I wanted you to find out, especially after the talk we had before…” she looked out to the street and saw a figure dressed in black hopping along the rooftops engaged in combat. She couldn’t wait around any longer, “We really need to talk, but it’s going to have to wait.” 

“Mari--I mean, Ladybug!” Luka called, his hand reaching out for the now-standing Ladybug as she made her way to the edge of the roof. She stop and turned to look at him, eyebrow raised under the mask. Luka stood quickly and limped over to her, both of them wincing when it became obvious he was slightly injured. 

“Please, please be careful…” he said, before a small smile tugged at his lips, “I knew you were amazing, but this? You always manage to blow my mind.” 

Ladybug found herself overwhelmed by the love in his tone, in his gaze, and in the way he seemed to be holding himself back from asking her to stay out of harm's way. She wanted nothing more than to stay, to get everything off of her chest, and reassure him of his every fear. She had no idea how it felt in the aftermath of being akumatized, and could only imagine the anxiety that came along with the knowledge that most will never know exactly how much damage they caused. But she couldn’t, not right now at least. 

So she settled for the next best thing. In one fluid moment, she stepped closer to Luka, placing a quick but gentle kiss to his lips. Before he could respond, her yo-yo was sailing to attach to the building across the street, “I’ll be back for you, I promise! But for now, I gotta bug out!” 

As she swung towards the rampaging akuma, she heard Luka start making flustered noises, and Ladybug swore to herself that she would beat her record for fastest time defeating an akuma.


End file.
